Today is a day full of fond memories. Eighteen years ago, I married the love of my life and enjoyed fifteen years of, well, not bliss exactly, but certainly some exciting, qualifying moments.
My husband, Carl Bibbs, had two stunning careers. He was a gifted nightclub singer and a gifted portrait photographer. I joined him in support of both businesses, and those enterprises were far more satisfying than any other work I ever did. As he achieved a certain celebrity in the community, my heart welled with pride and the satisfaction of teamwork.
Here are just a few of hundreds of rich memories that sooth my heart:
* A spectator at the Muny in Forest Park grabbed my hand as I walked by and told me, "Tell that man not to neglect his gift. He has a beautiful singing voice. Tell him to never let it go!"
* A spectator in a nightclub said, "I travel for business and I have been in hundreds of clubs all over the country. He has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard."
* A mom brought her children to our studio to have their Christmas photos taken by Carl. She said, "I brought this to show you." She laid out in chronological order every photo Carl had taken of her kids every year for eight years, going back to the first infant. She chronicled her children's growth and change with maturity. And she chronicled an unshakable customer loyalty that only comes with good service and a great product.
*Restauranteur Joe Boccardi stood in the center of his veranda, packed with guests eating. He turned to Carl and said, "Every person I see has come back to hear you."
My husband had a heart attack and died April 27, 2005. My life and heart and joy went out the front door with Carl and the paramedics. I'm sure there are better husbands, better marriages, better partnerships, even better sex. But I wouldn't change a thing.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Why, as a Christian, I'm embarrassed
It's never a good idea to make yourself better than others, even in your own mind. But it's particularly ill-advised to come out and blurt your superiority to people. And even if your judgment is true and you are superior, you may stand firmly on the assumption that others will disagree.
I disagreed a lot this week with the actions of someone I have never met, but have heard about more than once and whose bigotry, intolerance, hatred, and ugliness makes my job much harder as a Christian in this culture.
When your stepdaughter and her family visit your home, my friend. try to refrain from bursting forth with ethnic slurs and accusations about how her family refuses to except your religion and is therefore of the devil. I can't start to tell you how badly that comes across and how ugly you make all Christians look.
I believe these biblical truths:
Jesus the Messiah is the incarnate God and was sent to earth to make peace between God and men. Hence the whole Peace on Earth thing. It's not a vain hope for the future. He really accomplished it. Humans have had a much harder time implementing peace among ourselves.
Jesus came here as a Jewish man to reconcile all men to God, both Jew and Gentile.
There is a force of evil in the world that hates Jews, and would like nothing better than to keep them from understanding that Jesus is the Messiah intended for them.
Explaining this is tough because Jewish people have 2,000 years of terrible Christian behavior to look upon as evidence why they should eschew Jesus. Hurling insults does not heal this rift, to say the least.
But it gets worse. Some time ago, a close friend of mine who is a member of St. Louis's proud gay community went to watch the Gay Pride Parade as it marched down Grand Ave. He came to me later, disgusted with the behavior of a congregation full of Lutherans who spilled out of their church that Sunday morning and made no effort to conceal their hatred and bigotry for the celebration that was taking place.
I believe this: Gay people are gay because they're gay. It's not a choice; it's not a lifestyle; it's who they are. They can't any more be straight than you can be a cocker spaniel, so don't talk to me about sin. I don't buy it.
But if I did buy it, here's another biblical clue: our job as Christians is to preach the Gospel to every creature. That's our assignment, and we do it poorly. For those of you who may be confused, the Gospel is the Good News that Jesus died for us, overcame death for us, and offers the gift of eternal life through faith. The Gospel is NOT an injunction for people to stop sinning and be just like you. Or me. Or any other hypocritical mortal person.
Flip side of that coin: The job of the Holy Spirit is to convince the world of sin, righteousness, and impending judgment. He got this gig because He is the only person who can talk about someone else's sin without facing charges of hypocrisy.
That's all for now. I'll be back later for more kvetching.
I disagreed a lot this week with the actions of someone I have never met, but have heard about more than once and whose bigotry, intolerance, hatred, and ugliness makes my job much harder as a Christian in this culture.
When your stepdaughter and her family visit your home, my friend. try to refrain from bursting forth with ethnic slurs and accusations about how her family refuses to except your religion and is therefore of the devil. I can't start to tell you how badly that comes across and how ugly you make all Christians look.
I believe these biblical truths:
Jesus the Messiah is the incarnate God and was sent to earth to make peace between God and men. Hence the whole Peace on Earth thing. It's not a vain hope for the future. He really accomplished it. Humans have had a much harder time implementing peace among ourselves.
Jesus came here as a Jewish man to reconcile all men to God, both Jew and Gentile.
There is a force of evil in the world that hates Jews, and would like nothing better than to keep them from understanding that Jesus is the Messiah intended for them.
Explaining this is tough because Jewish people have 2,000 years of terrible Christian behavior to look upon as evidence why they should eschew Jesus. Hurling insults does not heal this rift, to say the least.
But it gets worse. Some time ago, a close friend of mine who is a member of St. Louis's proud gay community went to watch the Gay Pride Parade as it marched down Grand Ave. He came to me later, disgusted with the behavior of a congregation full of Lutherans who spilled out of their church that Sunday morning and made no effort to conceal their hatred and bigotry for the celebration that was taking place.
I believe this: Gay people are gay because they're gay. It's not a choice; it's not a lifestyle; it's who they are. They can't any more be straight than you can be a cocker spaniel, so don't talk to me about sin. I don't buy it.
But if I did buy it, here's another biblical clue: our job as Christians is to preach the Gospel to every creature. That's our assignment, and we do it poorly. For those of you who may be confused, the Gospel is the Good News that Jesus died for us, overcame death for us, and offers the gift of eternal life through faith. The Gospel is NOT an injunction for people to stop sinning and be just like you. Or me. Or any other hypocritical mortal person.
Flip side of that coin: The job of the Holy Spirit is to convince the world of sin, righteousness, and impending judgment. He got this gig because He is the only person who can talk about someone else's sin without facing charges of hypocrisy.
That's all for now. I'll be back later for more kvetching.
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